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The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism is pleased to welcome Justice Mary Ellen Coghlan, Judge Franklin U. Valderrama, and attorney Kurt Reitz as new Commissioners. The Commissioners were appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court for three-year terms beginning on January 1, 2021. “Justice Coghlan, Judge Valderrama, and attorney Reitz are well-known for their professionalism and contributions to the bar and their communities,” said Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne M. Burke. “I look forward to working with our new Commissioners to promote civility and professionalism in Illinois’ legal community. In addition, I would like to thank past-Commissioners Judge Jorge…
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As the tumultuous year of 2020 was ending, I started looking for positive stories that would provide hope for 2021. To my surprise, they were not hard to find. In reaching out to lawyers across Illinois, I found examples of how the resiliency that lawyers had developed led to increased professionalism. Resiliency has become a buzz word for effectively dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, lawyers aren’t known for their resiliency. Dr. Larry Richard, a leading expert on the psychology of lawyer behavior, found that 90% of lawyers score in the bottom half of the scale on the psychological trait…
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This week, the Illinois legal profession welcomed 1,590 new lawyers to its ranks. Attorneys from Illinois’ five districts were sworn in during a virtual, statewide bar admission ceremony on Thursday, January 14. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita B. Garman presided over the event. Prior to the bar admission ceremony, all newly admitted attorneys passed the Illinois State Bar Examination, an ethics examination, and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. Of the state’s five districts, the number of admitted attorneys is as follows: First District: 1,240 Second District: 184 Third District: 55 Fourth District: 51 Fifth…
From : Blog Entry>>Melanie’s Blog Entry2020 was a tough year.   A year where many of us saw our plans crushed by a series of events, most notably COVID-19.   During ILTA’s Ascend 2020 planning meetings held in January, the Women Who Lead Advisory Group began planning programming for the “deep south.”   There was interest in continuing the conversation of women’s self-empowerment, mentoring and growth discussed during ILTACON2019, and taking the message on the road for in person meetings in New Orleans, La; Atlanta, Ga.; Birmingham, [More]…
I’ve been thinking about how audio formats could be used for legal research texts. Unlike commercial fiction audiobooks, a legal research text is unlikely to be read cover to cover. But can the text be separated – just as it is in the table of contents – to make audio useful?…
Published six times a year, The Journal of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & Law (RAIL) is one of the first legal journals focused exclusively on exploring how robotics and machine learning are impacting our world. Subjects include drones, self-driving vehicles, biometric privacy, blockchain technology, HR software algorithms, and many other fascinating topics where the law is still highly malleable.  Enjoy a free sample of RAIL —click here to instantly download a full article: The Future of AI Protection by Paul A. Ragusa and Nick Palmieri, in which the authors look at how intellectual property protection can apply to the results produced by an…
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The e-discovery and litigation technology company Everlaw has introduced a new standalone toolkit, Storybuilder, that bridges the gap from finding relevant documents in discovery to collaboratively creating a narrative around those documents, as well as around depositions and other evidence, in preparation for depositions or trial. Available at no cost, Storybuilder is a tool that allows legal teams to organize key documents and case information into cohesive timelines, collaboratively craft narratives, integrate and annotate deposition transcripts, zero in on key testimony, and automate exhibit lists, all while working in a secure cloud environment. While Storybuilder was already a feature…
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With 2020 firmly in our rearview mirror, we’re cranking up preparation for the annual legal technology fest known as Legalweek. This year, of course is virtual, but rest assured we’re every bit as enthusiastic and prepared to share valuable educational and product information to equip corporate legal professionals for the year ahead. …
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We conclude our discussion with Jennifer Bluestein, author of the book Stepping It Up: A Guide for Mid-Level Law Firm Associates, and talk about how associates mature into their roles as lawyers with law firms. As these second to sixth-year associates begin to take on more substantial legal roles, as well as leadership, mentorship, and allyship among their fellow lawyers, the stress of the job can become overwhelming. Bluestein talks through a number of examples of how mid-level associates can handle the increased workload, improve communications with partners at the firm, and realistically plan for their future. During…
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The Australia-based legal technology company InfoTrack, which also operates in the United States, has acquired Lawgical, the parent company of several legal industry brands, including the Legal Talk Network, which produces some 30 law-related podcasts, ServeNow, which says it is the nation’s largest independent network of process service professionals, and ServeManager, a technology platform for process servers to manage service of process. Lawgical, founded in 2003, will continue to operate independently under its brand name and maintain its headquarters in Denver, Colo. Lawgical’s cofounders Adam Camras, CEO, and Trent Carlyle, CTO, will continue…
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Opus 2, the London-based collaboration platform for law firms, has a new CEO today, as founder and majority shareholder Graham Smith-Bernal becomes executive chairman focused on long-term strategy and culture, and board member Martin Coen takes over as chief executive. Coen has been an advisor to Opus 2 since joining its board in 2019. For more than a decade, he was CEO of the FinTech firm Dovetail, until its 2017 acquisition by Fiserv, where he remained as president of enterprise payment solutions until 2018. His appointment as CEO, the company said in a statement, “reflects a commitment at Opus…
The Littler International Libraries provides an overview of workplace laws and regulations of more than 40 countries and territories. Written by selected attorneys and scholars from around the globe, as well as Littler attorneys, the Littler International Libraries track the employment life cycle in a question-and-answer format, covering over 90 workplace law topics under 13 categories. Each Guide provides responses to the same questions, facilitating comparison across jurisdictions. Littler International Libraries are available within the Fastcase legal research application. Enjoy the benefits of searching Littler International Libraries alongside a comprehensive primary law database, along with industry-leading analytical tools. With an annual…
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I do a lot of things from habit, moving from one thing to the next almost by rote. One can forget to stop every so often and look around and say, “what else can I improve while I’m here?” Over the last year, I had a number of opportunities to reflect on this as I was plugging away at an accessibility project. The biggest hurdle about change may be stopping to make a deliberate choice to do it. We had a legal obligation at work to make our web sites accessible. Sometimes when you can’t get people to change voluntarily,…
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Two notable people moves in the legal tech news this week. Wishart Joins Agiloft London-based Andy Wishart has left Thomson Reuters, where he was most recently vice president of drafting and productivity solutions, to join Agiloft, the California company that provides a no-code contract lifecycle management platform, where he will serve as chief product officer. Wishart was co-founder and chief technology officer of Business Integrity, developer of the contract automation software Contract Express, which Thomson Reuters acquired in 2015. He is a 1998 graduate of the University of Edinburgh with a degree in artificial intelligence and psychology. “I am…
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Meet Dave Ruel, Hanzo’s senior product manager.  He brings a unique mix of fun, a thirst for a good challenge, and intellect to every meeting. Hanging with Dave, you get the sense that you’re in the presence of a person who knows his stuff. Good thing, though, since he’s responsible for developing solutions to simplify making sense out of collaboration data for discovery. He’s also an excellent listener and keeps his ears open to the most significant challenges corporate legal teams face.   What problems are you currently solving? How does it benefit the customer? Dave: My first assignment has…